Jacqueline "Jacqui" Michot Ceballos (born September 8, 1925) is an American

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Ceballos is the former president of New York Chapter of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

and founder of the Veteran Feminists of America organization which documents the history of

Second wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred t ...

and pioneer feminists.Love, Barbara J.
''Feminists who changed America, 1963-1975''
University of Illinois Press, 2006, p78, Mead, Rebecca
"Changes"
''The New Yorker'', May 3, 2004 Ceballos' 1971 debate on sexual politics with

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

and

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and feminist, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literature, she ...

is recorded in the 1979 film ''Town Bloody Hall''. Ceballos is also featured in the feminist history film ''

She's Beautiful When She's Angry ''She's Beautiful When She's Angry'' is a 2014 American documentary film about some of the women involved in the second-wave feminism, second-wave feminist movement in the United States. It was directed by Mary Dore and co-produced by Nancy Ken ...

''.

Early life

Ceballos was born Jacqueline Michot in Mamou,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

on September 8, 1925. The daughter of Louis Michot and Adele Domas, Ceballos was the middle child of seven children. She attended public school in Lafayette and studied music at Southwestern Louisiana Institute. After majoring in voice, Ceballos moved to New York City to pursue a career in opera. In 1951 Ceballos married Colombian businessman Alvaro Ceballos with whom she had four children. After the family moved to Bogota, Colombia in 1958, Ceballos founded the city's first opera company, El Teatro Experimental de la Opera. During the break-up of her marriage, Ceballos was given

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan (; February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book '' The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the s ...

's ''

The Feminine Mystique ''The Feminine Mystique'' is a book by American author Betty Friedan, widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States. First published by W. W. Norton on February 19, 1963, ''The Feminine Mystique'' became a bestseller, i ...

'' to read, which she later said inspired her toward activism in the feminist movement. Her husband helped her open an export-import clothing business in New York.

Activism

In 1967, Ceballos moved back to New York City with her four children where she attended her first

(NOW) meeting. She served on the boards of NOW at the national and local levels from 1967–1973 and formed a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

committee and speakers bureau. She co-founded the New Feminist Theater. In 1971, Ceballos served as president of New York NOW. She appeared in the April 30, 1971 town hall debate entitled, ''A Dialogue on Women's Liberation with

, Diana Trilling, Jacqueline Ceballos,

Jill Johnston Jill Johnston (May 17, 1929 – September 18, 2010) was a British-born American feminist author and cultural critic. She is most famous for her radical lesbian feminism book, '' Lesbian Nation'' and was a longtime writer for ''The Village Voi ...

''. The debate was recorded and released as D. A. Pennebaker's 1979 documentary film ''Town Bloody Hall''.Jerry Tallmer
"A bloody township in the war of the sexes, caught on film"
, ''The Villager'', Volume 77, Number 4 , June 27 - July 3, 2007 During the debate, Ceballos made a case that women had the right and duty "to have a voice in changing the world that is changing them." Angry about the image of women in media, Ceballos described the advertiser's portrayal as "She gets an orgasm when she gets the shiny floor!" Ceballos became NOW's Eastern Regional Director in 1971 and served as its representative at the

1972 Democratic National Convention The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Rep ...

. She co-founded the Women's Forum in 1974 and served as the organization's first executive director. She later worked as a representative at the United Nations International Women's Conference. Along with dozens of other prominent feminists, Ceballos helped found the

National Women's Political Caucus The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) is an organization which was founded in 1971 by leaders of the women's liberation movement to promote women's participation in government. The group describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots or ...

. In 1972, she joined the '' Ms.'' campaign, “We Have Had Abortions” which called for an end to "archaic laws" limiting reproductive freedom, they encouraged women to share their stories and take action. In 1970, Ceballos helped

organize the Women's Strike for Equality. She assisted Friedan in organizing demonstrations speaking out against the all-male staff at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Ceballos became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Basic informati ...

(WIFP) in 1977. WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. In 2014, Ceballos was featured in the film ''

''.

Veteran Feminists of America

In 1975 Ceballos retired from general activism to start a company. Ceballos opened a public relations firm to advertise feminist education courses and she began the New Feminist Talent speaker's bureau. After the rise of anti-feminism during the 1980s, Ceballos with Dorothy Senerchia, Barbara Seaman, and other feminist pioneers founded the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA). The founding principle of the organization was to preserve the history of

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...

as well as to honor the women and men who pioneered the movement."Veteran Feminists of America records, 1972-2008", Manuscript and Special Collections Library, Duke University

Personal life

As of 2012, Ceballos lives in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

where her daughter, Michele, founded a non-profit dance and education group. Her husband, Alvaro, died from Alzheimers at the age of 92 in Cucuta, Colombia.

References

External links